Music Teacher

Chapter 10

"Ray," he called softly. When I didn't budge he grabbed my arm and shook me. Softly. And tried again, "Raaay," he sang, putting more weight on my arm to roll me over on my back. Groaning, I shrugged him off. A few seconds passed without him trying to wake me up anymore. If I didn't know any better I would have thought he'd given up. But I did know better and knew he'd try again, but as the seconds kept passing and he didn't shake me awake as I thought he would, I was becoming more anxious with each passing moment I could hardly take it.

I let my eyes open slowly, knowing the sting that would come from the light if I opened them too fast. I expected the morning light to be bursting through the windows and blind me anyways, but it was, in fact, still dark. Well, early. Really early, because there was barely any light at all coming through the blinds. But something else was blocking it. I hadn't fully opened my eyes yet since I was only letting them get used to this bit, which already felt like so much. My eyelids fluttered, in desperate need to close and rest again, but the nagging anxiety was still eating at me. Oh, anxiety, just ignore him! But it was no use.

At last they opened. The loud gasp I took and jump, did little to hide my surprise at the sight above me, exactly what he wanted given by slight smirk on his lips. And how couldn't I have been surprised, his proximity was so close I could feel the air from his nose fanning over my face.

I swallowed. "What are you doing?" Even though having whispered, you could still hear the rasp in my voice from how darn early it was.

He didn't answer me. Instead, his eyes started roaming over my face as if studying it. First the chin, then my lips—which parted just as his did too when his gaze lingered there for a while—then my nose, my cheeks, and finally, my eyes. My eyes followed his the whole time, and locked when green met blue. I watched him flick his eyes back and forth between mine, and up and down my face all over again as they took in every detail, with his jaw locked and set. Sometime during all this, my breathing picked up, and you could definitely see it on my chest, but thankfully he wasn't looking there. His hands slid up to my shoulders and stayed there. I was about to speak, I don't know what I was going to say, just something, when his lips closed and started to spread again. I barely had anytime to register anything else, my mind clouded with what had just been going on, when I was being waved around on the bed.

"Ray! Get up!" He whined.

"Oh. My. God!" I groaned, and slapped his hands away. "Go away."

"We have to do the laundry."

"I had—or, actually still do have—the alarm set," I said, pointing to it.

"Yes," he said, "but I thought it'd be better to wake you up personally, than the alarm.

"Why?"

"Because...alarms are annoying," he said plainly.

"The alarm, also goes off much later." I snapped, mocking his tone, and rolled over again. I was mad. And I didn't know what for, this wasn't me. I also hadn't been woken up so early before that wasn't by me, so maybe that was why I was so put out. Whatever the reason, I felt terrible for reacting that way with Max. I let out a deep sigh, and rolled back over. He wasn't still hovering over me and he wasn't on the couch, instead I found him sitting criss-crossed on the floor already looking at me.

He mumbled something so quietly I couldn't understand. I had never heard Max be so quiet, he seemed so vulnerable and out of his place, it only made me feel worse.

"What?" I asked gently, too afraid one more word from me would make this worse. Him worse.

"Are you mad?" He asked, in the same tone. As if also afraid. I felt like punching myself for what I'd done.